October 15, 2024 | By Diana Khwaelid
A new wave of destruction has hit Jenin, as the infrastructure of the city and the camp was once again ravaged, and two Palestinians were killed during an Israeli operation that lasted 8 continuous hours.
On Monday morning, October 14th, Israeli occupying forces stormed the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank. Palestinians discovered the presence of Israeli special forces inside the Jenin camp.
Just a few hours after the start of the day and normal life in Jenin, Israeli occupation forces stormed the city and camp in broad daylight. Palestinians hurriedly closed their shops, and soon, the city and camp became ghost towns, as seen in previous Israeli military incursions.
Israeli forces surrounded a Palestinian house in the Al-Aloub neighborhood inside the camp while also positioning themselves in more than five other neighborhoods.
New Destruction
Using a bulldozer, Israeli forces caused further damage to the watermelon roundabout, one of the main intersections in Jenin, connecting the city to the camp. The roundabout had been destroyed in a previous attack.
A secondary road leading to Jenin State Hospital was also destroyed, and a three-story house, besieged at the start of the incursion, was bombed. Other areas and neighborhoods in Jenin also suffered extensive damage.
Scenes of destruction are familiar to Palestinians, particularly in Jenin and the camp, which endured significant destruction during a previous military operation that lasted ten days.
Incursion and Arrests
As Israeli forces continued to storm Jenin and the camp, they also invaded the nearby village of Jaba, arresting at least nine Palestinians.
“The city of Jenin and the camp also witnessed the arrests of other young people” stated Palestinian news sources.
Obstruction of Medical Staff
Eyewitnesses from the Red Crescent medical team reported that Israeli forces obstructed their movements and work, both in Jenin and within the camp, during the incursion. An ambulance was prevented from reaching an injured Palestinian person from the town of Qabatiya, who later died after being left to bleed for hours.
A Palestinian paramedic, on duty during the incursion, was arrested, detained for hours, and then later released.
The martyr from Qabatiya, identified as Mahmoud Abu al-Rub, was a former prisoner who had been released five months ago, after spending four years in Israeli prison. He was killed by multiple gunshots from Israeli forces in the Al-Sibat neighborhood of Jenin.
Medical sources reported that 17-year-old student Rayan Ibrahim al-Sayed was also killed after being wounded by Israeli forces during the incursion. Another young man, Salah Jabarin, succumbed to wounds sustained about a month ago, joining his father, who had been martyred on the same day Salah was injured.
Jenin’s mosques mourned the three martyrs, and funeral ceremonies were held for each of them. Friends and family bade their final farewells in deep grief and sorrow.
According to the Shirin Abu Akleh Observatory, the number of Palestinian martyrs this year has risen to 20,316. Since October 7, the number of martyrs in the West Bank has reached 724. In Jenin alone, 198 people have been killed since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza and the near-daily military operations in the West Bank.
